Marketplace Index for Tuesday, January 24, 2012

This week, for the first time, the Fed will no longer be an impenetrable monolith. It’s going to be upfront. Straightforward. Transparent, even. As of the end of its meeting tomorrow, the Fed will let its 17-member committee publicly reveal what they think will happen to interest rates in the coming months and years. Will this be good news for the nervous markets? Andy Brooks, head of U.S. equity trading at T. Rowe Price, says in spite of some signs of growth in the U.S. economy, he's expecting to hear caution coming out of the meeting tomorrow. The Daily Pulse is up today on news that the bi-annual Augmented Misery Index is indicating Americans are feeling better about their finances.

Tomorrow the Federal Reserve Bank will let all 17 members of its committee publicly reveal they think will happen to interest rates in the coming months and years. Will this be good news for nervous markets?